Since 2014, HSA enrollment has increased 10.7 percent, according to new survey data from United Benefit Advisors. The survey of more than 10,000 employer-sponsored health plans finds that, overall, enrollment in HSAs is increasing, while employer contributions, on average, are stagnant or decreasing.

Employers have to reasonably accommodate their employees' religious beliefs and practices. But what if the worker happens to be an atheist? Is he also entitled to reasonable accommodation of his beliefs?

Are you gay? JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s human resources department is asking employees for the first time this year if they'd like to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity, and companies including Facebook, Deutsche Bank, IBM and AT&T also collect the data.

More than half of U.S. adults say they have experienced discrimination at the workplace, from police or in other situations, a phenomenon linked to high stress levels and poor health, according to a study by the American Psychological Association. Almost 70 percent of adults say they have experienced discrimination and 61 percent say they have experienced it on a day-to-day basis in the form of poor service, threats, lack of courtesy or respect and the like, the association reports.

Companies with "insider" chairpersons pay their chief executives a lot more than those with "outsider" chairpersons, according to a report by Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS. The firm analyzed data from S&P 500 companies and found that compensation over a three-year period was 42 percent higher on average for CEOs that had an insider chairperson (excluding those in a combined role), than for CEOs of companies whose board was chaired by an independent outsider.

Companies that pay back student debt for their employees are part of the hottest thing in benefits right now, but how much does the benefit actually save student debtors? About three years and $4,100 in payments for the typical undergrad with a bachelor's degree, a new study finds.

In 2016, 3.6 million baby boomers will retire, one fourth of millennial workers will become managers, and "Generation Z" (those born in 1994-2010) will be entering the workforce. How will this change the workplace?

The 2016 NCAA Tournament is set to begin and according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas the tournament could cost up to $1.3 billion per hour in the opening week of the tournament. A survey of the 2015 tournament done by CareerBuilder.com found that 15 percent of workers planned to participate in March Madness office pools.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has now completed its final regulations on the white collar exemptions to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL submitted the final regulations to the Office of Management and Budget on March 14, 2016 for review and approval. DOL representatives have stated in recent presentations that the goal is for publication to occur in July. The plan is for the final regulations to be effective by the end of the year. With the use of an effective date 60 days after publication, it is possible that the final regulations will be effective before the Presidential election in November (and possibly near Labor Day).

In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, argued before the Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2016, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not a state may permit a public sector union to compel a “fair share” fee from employees who do not elect to become union members.

For the past 30 years, the Supreme Court has held that public sector unions could not charge dues for political or ideological activities, but, as a compromise for the public good and to prevent “free riders,” could continue to charge non-members “fair-share” fees to cover the costs of contract negotiation, grievance management and benefits administration. (This principle had applied to workers in the private sector since the 1950s.)

Time is running out to prepare H-1B petitions to make the annual cap! On April 1, 2016, USCIS will begin accepting petitions for H-1B temporary workers for Fiscal Year 2017. If approved, H-1B status will become effective no earlier than October 1, 2016. There are only 65,000 new H-1B visas available each fiscal year (with an additional 20,000 reserved for foreign nationals with a U.S. master's degree or higher). Employers who want to sponsor foreign professionals should initiate H-1B petition processing now.

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We believe that all employers, public and private alike, will be better able to achieve their goals if they are free to use their human resources in the manner they deem productive and efficient, with minimal interference from government regulations and other outside sources. Whether in a union or non-union environment, our chief goal is to assist our employer clients in creating a work force that is world-class in all respects.